MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) informant Grigory Rodchenkov, on Monday filed a lawsuit in the US against former head of the Russian Biathlon Union Mikhail Prokhorov, who was financially backing a defamation lawsuit filed by three Russian female biathletes against the whistleblower, Rodchenkov’s lawyer Jim Walden said.
“With today’s filings, the hunted becomes the hunter … In throwing this feeble punch, the plaintiffs and their oligarch financier should have better understood the laws of the state of New York, which fully protect Dr. Rodchenkov from attempts to use the courts as a means of retaliation and intimidation,” Walden was quoted as saying by the Insidethegames news portal.
Russian biathletes Olga Zaytseva, Yana Romanova, and Olga Vilukhina lost their silver Olympic medals won in a women’s relay team following Rodchenkov’s claims about the alleged state-run doping program in the Russian sports, which resulted in sanctions against Russian athletes, including banning the Russian national team to participate in the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. Zaytseva, Romanova, and Vilukhina are currently seeking $10 million in damages, according to the media outlet.
Russia has refuted the accusations of running the doping program but acknowledged that the country’s sport has some problems with doping that are being tackled now.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
